For the first letters, try solving the title clue! Gratitude to StJtB, skaldskaparmal, and juff for testing and Unsplash's Radek Jedynak for the cover pic!
6 of the 7 clues were perfectly crafted, wouldn't change a single word in the clues.
Superb surfaces. Ramping up the difficulty I would say. Also, a very interesting set of words for the solutions which added enjoyment to the puzzle. (4A was the only clue I would question.)
Was it the ultimately? Yeah, I probably should've taken a different angle, I just got so stuck on Picard. Glad you noticed and appreciated the surfaces and uptick on difficulty.
I am so lucky that the testers pushed me to go further than my initial draft, and that I could twist the ark definition into something basketball-related.